Feast Your Eyes on Tiger Den Yakitori

Chicken gizzards come sprinkled with an orange Japanese seasoning salt, the citric acid minerality of the seasoning coming alive with a squeeze of lime. The wasabi cream sauce from the lamb comes in handy; dunking a few pieces seems like a good idea, and it works swimmingly well.

Photo by Mai Pham

And finally, chicken hearts. The conical-shaped hearts look appetizing even before the first bite, each heart threaded through the skewer in a way that resembles a pattern of beaded jewelry. The hearts have a tender chewiness, their texture very agreeable with this style of cooking. We experience another fine beer pairing.

Photo by Mai Pham

Owner Mike Tran takes his turn at the grill station, with grill-master Ming-san looking on. He recommends that we finish off with a bowl of ramen and an order of the doughnut-hole-size pandan donuts, but honestly, the yakitori alone make an excellent meal. Think of yakitori as a type of Japanese tapa, or the equivalent of eating dim sum in the evening. Meat on a stick, on lots of small plates, to share.